2026 Central Africa Regional Outlook Webinar

Central Africa enters 2026 with cautious optimism. During this webinar, speakers reflected on an uneven but improving growth outlook, with aggregate GDP expected to rise from around 3.2% in 2025 to approximately 3.4% in 2026, supported by stabilising oil prices, renewed infrastructure investment and gradual diversification beyond extractive sectors.

The Central Africa Regional Outlook 2026 Webinar explored how the region can strengthen fiscal stability and build resilience amid ongoing global uncertainty. The discussion focused on several core themes:

• Natural resources and diversification: Panellists examined how oil-dependent economies such as Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville and Equatorial Guinea are seeking to balance energy exports with investment in agribusiness, timber and manufacturing to reduce exposure to commodity cycles.

• Infrastructure and regional connectivity: The session highlighted the importance of transport and energy corridors across the Congo Basin and the CEMAC region, including cross-border roads, energy interconnectors and digital infrastructure, in supporting trade and market access.

• Monetary stability and fiscal reform: Speakers discussed the role of the CFA franc peg in maintaining currency stability, alongside the need for stronger public finance management and improved domestic revenue mobilisation to address persistent fiscal pressures.

• Private sector and investment climate: The conversation also explored ongoing reforms in markets such as Cameroon, the DRC and Chad, and how better governance, transparency and regional cooperation can help unlock greater investor confidence.

Overall, the webinar considered how Central Africa can better leverage its natural resource base, enhance infrastructure integration and deepen structural reform to attract sustainable investment and support more inclusive growth.

Speakers:

• Olga Marysa Akin-Dina, Head of West & Central Africa

• Rodrigo Manso, Chief Executive Officer, Mitrelli